BENSON POLICE DEPARTMENT
303 EAST CHURCH STREET
BENSON, NC 27504
TELEPHONE 919-894-3616 FAX 919-207-1993
- - -PRESS RELEASE- - -
September 25, 2004
On Friday, September 24, 2004, at approximately 10:01 PM, an accident occurred on West Church Street near Farmer Drive in Benson. A 15 year old, Raymond Adam Byrd, of West Church Street in Benson, fell from a moving vehicle. He was riding in the bed of a Beige Chevrolet S10 pickup, with some other friends, which was being operated by a 17-year-old driver.
Passengers in the vehicle stated that the truck was traveling West on West Church Street, and slowed to turn South onto Farmer Drive. As the vehicle began to turn, Raymond Byrd, who was inside the truck bed, lost his balance, and fell over the right side and out of the truck. He struck his head on the pavement, and received serious head injuries as a result of the fall.
No charges have been filed at this time, pending consultation with the Johnston County District Attorney, and the investigation, while still in progress, does indicate that neither careless driving, nor alcohol, appear to have been a factor.
Raymond Byrd is currently in Duke University Hospital in the Intensive Care Unit. He is unresponsive, and on life support, with a fractured skull, and swelling of the brain.
For more information, please contact Chief Kenneth Edwards, Lt. Greg Percy, or Traffic Officer Danny Lucas at the Benson Police Department.